Author Shivani Bansal

My Review: Shivani Bansal has written a very emotional and raw story that follows the life of Meena, married off at a young age, leaving India behind to live in Kenya a land completely strange to her, its hard not to feel her pain of loss and trauma as we journey through the years with her. Its very well put together. Heart Breaking, endearing, I had to laugh at a Mango picking attempt. This Author does not shy away from very sensitive and hard hitting topics. You also need to remember the culture differences if you are not familiar with them as well as the time line this story is set in. A recommended read with trigger warnings.

Lilac Skies

Punjab, India. It’s 1942 and Meena is still a girl when her parents tell her she is to be married, in five days, to a total stranger. What’s more, he lives in Kenya. A different country, a different continent, thousands of miles away from everything she knows. She doesn’t want to marry, but with four brothers and sisters, Meena knows she will be a burden to her parents if she stays. And it isn’t her decision to make.

Nairobi, Kenya. Meena’s new home is beyond anything she could have imagined. Nairobi is beautiful, but tensions under the colonial British rule run high. She is told she is lucky because her husband Amar is young and handsome, but all is not as it seems within her marriage… Tucked away from the outside world, Meena spends her time by the mango tree dreaming of going home… until she realises the friendships that she forges here are all she can hold onto.

Going from girl to woman in a strange land, can Meena find a way to finally make her life her own?

Purchase Link – https://amzn.to/3SxkNKc

Author Bio –

Shivani Bansal has a First Class degree in International Relations and Politics, which has yet to be put to use! She works full time in digital marketing in the charity sector, and also runs a small baking business from home called Sweet Beginnings Bakes. She loves writing story ideas in her Pusheen notebook in her spare time.

Social Media Links –

Twitter: https://twitter.com/shivanib_writer